While your ability to comparison shop for tires was once limited to considering price and manufacturer popularity alone, new all-season and summer tires are now marked with specific test results showing their abilities to withstand the usual rigors of the road. Known as the Uniform Tire Quality Grading (UTQG) scores, these three sets of numbers tell you a lot about each tire you could choose for your vehicle, but the scores aren't foolproof. Find out how to fairly weigh the results from one brand to the next to make sure you buy a set of tires you're happy with in the long run.

Handling Wear

The first part of the UTQG score indicates how well the tire handled wear and tear on a test driving course under specific conditions. A government driving track is used to drive the tire exactly 7,200 miles before it is tested for wear. After determining how much rubber wore off and what condition the sidewalls and the rest of the tire are in, the manufacturer assigns the tire a number between 100 and 700 to indicate how hard-wearing and resistant to breakdown the tire is over long distances. Of course, this claim is still a rough estimate because the track is an ideal surface largely free from wear-inducing issues like:

• Loss of air pressure over the months and years of driving on a tire without giving it a top up
• Local climate variations, since heat and moisture break rubber down faster
• Road surface changes, especially because a gravel road wears a tire differently than a smoothly polished asphalt top.

Stopping When Wet

After the tire wear rating, you'll find a letter that indicates how well the tire maintains traction when stopping in wet conditions. This is an essential factor to know about tires since wet stopping is a major safety hazard and has the potential to greatly complicate an otherwise minor car accident. There are four categories running from AA as the best to C as the worst. Keep in mind that the testing procedure only involves stopping after driving in a straight line, so a AA rated tire may or may not perform any better than a A or B tire in a tight corner or other unusual braking situation.

Breaking Down with Heat

Finally, the UTQG wraps up with a rating regarding the heat resistance of the rubber used to make the tires you're inspecting. Not only is the tire tested for breakdown when exposed to high heat, it's also examined to see how well it dissipates heat as it builds up in real world driving conditions like braking or turning. Tires with higher heat resistance will last longer, but it's unlikely that you'll notice a major difference between the three grades of A, B, and C rated tires during your daily commute. The heat resistance test for the UTQG is mostly just a safety check to verify that the tires are safe enough to withstand the usual heat stresses generated during driving. C level tires still at least pass the minimal requirements for heat resistance.

Comparing Tires Fairly

While you might think that the UTQG scores make it dead simple to pick the most reliable and durable tire at a glance, think again. Rating scales are only calibrated by each manufacturer for their products, so a tire with a 400 wear rating by its manufacturer will only outperform a model with a 200 rating from the same company. An AA traction tire from one company may offer the exact same performance as a B graded tire from a different company. Choose your manufacturer first based on testimonials and independent product testing, then choose a specific tire from their product lines by comparing the UTQG scores instead.

For help with picking out your new tires, contact a company like Discount Tire Centers.

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